Get 40% Off
🚨 Volatile Markets? Find Hidden Gems for Serious Outperformance
Find Stocks Now

And the Largest U.S. Credit Market Is?

Published 02/05/2013, 04:49 PM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

It turns out that the biggest financing market is not in corporate bonds or even mortgages. It's trade receivables. According to the Receivables Exchange, $11 trillion of trade receivables is originated by small and mid-size businesses and another $6 trillion by large corporations for a whopping total market size of $17 trillion.
Credit Markets By Asset Class
As U.S. money market funds are squeezed by new regulation, the types of commercial paper (CP) these funds can buy is limited to the top-rated corporations and banks. The smaller or lower-rated firms have limited or no access to the CP markets. And banks sometimes have a limited appetite to finance corporate receivables on their balance sheets. By opening up receivables financing to end-users directly, the exchange effectively creates an alternative to CP or money markets for investors to park their cash. The receivables term tends to be quite short (typically under two months), but there is clearly credit risk associated with these transactions. Many of these firms are smaller and/or sub-investment-grade or unrated -- so credit work needs to be done prior to investing. One way to mitigate the risk is by pooling these receivables (effectively disintermediating money market funds) to create diversification, which is what the exchange allows investors to do (see presentation below).

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.